Identification and In Silico Characterization of a Conserved Peptide on Influenza Hemagglutinin Protein: A New Potential Antigen for Universal Influenza Vaccine Development

Atin Khalaj-Hedayati; Seyedehmaryam Moosavi; Otilia Manta; Mohamed H Helal; Mohamed M Ibrahim; Zeinhom M El-Bahy; Ganden Supriyanto

doi:10.3390/nano13202796

Identification and In Silico Characterization of a Conserved Peptide on Influenza Hemagglutinin Protein: A New Potential Antigen for Universal Influenza Vaccine Development

Nanomaterials (Basel). 2023 Oct 20;13(20):2796. doi: 10.3390/nano13202796.

Authors

Atin Khalaj-Hedayati^{1

2}, Seyedehmaryam Moosavi³, Otilia Manta^{4

5

6}, Mohamed H Helal⁷, Mohamed M Ibrahim⁸, Zeinhom M El-Bahy⁹, Ganden Supriyanto¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Airlangga University, Mulyorejo, Surabaya 60115, Indonesia.
² School of Biosciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Taylor's University, Subang Jaya 47500, Malaysia.
³ Department of Nanotechnology Engineering, Faculty of Advance Technology and Multidiscipline, Airlangga University, Mulyorejo, Surabaya 60115, Indonesia.
⁴ Romanian Academy, Victor Slavescu Centre for Financial and Monetary Research, 050731 Bucharest, Romania.
⁵ Romanian Academy, CE-MONT Mountain Economy Center, 725700 Vatra Dornei, Romania.
⁶ Research Department, Romanian American University, 012101 Bucharest, Romania.
⁷ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Arts and Science, Northern Border University, Rafha 76413, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia.
⁹ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City 11884, Egypt.

Abstract

Antigenic changes in surface proteins of the influenza virus may cause the emergence of new variants that necessitate the reformulation of influenza vaccines every year. Universal influenza vaccine that relies on conserved regions can potentially be effective against all strains regardless of any antigenic changes and as a result, it can bring enormous public health impact and economic benefit worldwide. Here, a conserved peptide (HA2_88-107) on the stalk domain of hemagglutinin glycoprotein is identified among highly pathogenic influenza viruses. Five top-ranked B-cell and twelve T-cell epitopes were recognized by epitope mapping approaches and the corresponding Human Leukocyte Antigen alleles to T-cell epitopes showed high population coverage (>99%) worldwide. Moreover, molecular docking analysis indicated that VLMENERTL and WTYNAELLV epitopes have high binding affinity to the antigen-binding groove of the HLA-A*02:01 and HLA-A*68:02 molecules, respectively. Theoretical physicochemical properties of the peptide were assessed to ensure its thermostability and hydrophilicity. The results suggest that the HA2_88-107 peptide can be a promising antigen for universal influenza vaccine design. However, in vitro and in vivo analyses are needed to support and evaluate the effectiveness of the peptide as an immunogen for vaccine development.

Keywords: epitope mapping; hemagglutinin; immunoinformatic; nanoparticle; peptide-based vaccine; universal influenza vaccine.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by Deanship of Scientific Research at Northern Border University, Arar, KSA for funding this research work through the project number “NBU-FFR-2023-0128”.